The Festival of Glowing Giants
Asako Kitamura never set out to break any barriers. She simply grew up wanting to become a master nebuta maker, just like her father before her. She spent years perfecting the art of building nebuta, giant paper floats built to take on the shape of warrior gods. This year, Mitamura made history as the first woman to win first place at Japan’s 300-year-old Aomori Nebuta Festival.